Automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus

ABSTRACT

An automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus includes: a bottom rail; a middle rail and an inner rail, slidably installed in bottom rail; a positioning hole proximate to an end of the inner rail; a control seat at the rear of the bottom rail and having a slide slot, a slot abutting end and a slant slot at the front of the slide slot; a slide cover slidably covered onto the control seat and having at least one spring between the slide cover and control seat; a swaying element installed between the control seat and slide cover and having a protruding pillar extended from the slide cover and a link element fixed to the positioning hole of the inner rail and having a link slot at the bottom of the link element for inserting, transmitting and connecting the protruding pillar to achieve the effect of extending the length of the slide.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a slide structure, and more particularly to an automatic position-restoring extended slide having an effect of extending the length of the slide and a simple and refined structure with a smooth movement and a good operability.

2. Description of the Related Art

As present push-pull cabinets or drawers are applied in various different containing and storing apparatuses extensively, manufacturers generally combine positioning guide slides on both sides of a slide for facilitating the operations including pulling and pushing the cabinet (drawer) and further combine an automatic position-restoring mechanism to the slide for closing the cabinet (drawer) stably, such that if the cabinet (drawer) is pushed to a rear section of the storing apparatus, the automatic position-restoring mechanism is pulled by the cabinet (drawer) and moved backward automatically to set the cabinet (drawer) to a stable closed condition. With reference to FIG. 1 for a conventional slide adopting the automatic position-restoring technology, the slide comprises a bottom rail 90, a middle rail 91 and an inner rail 92 installed sequentially; a control seat 93 mounted onto the bottom rail 90, and including a shock absorbing device 931, a spring 932 and a guide plate 933 forwardly extended from the control seat 93 and the guide plate 933 including a guide slot 934 and a slant slot 935 formed at a front end of the guide slot 934; a slide cover 94 slidably covered onto the control seat 93, and a front end of the slide cover 94 being coupled to the shock absorbing device 931 and the spring 932, and the slide cover 94 including an actuating slot 941; a swaying element 95 slidably installed into the guide slot 934 of the guide plate 933 and disposed at a position of the actuating slot 941 of the slide cover 94; and a link element 96 fixed into a positioning hole 921 of the inner rail 92 for linking with the swaying element 95 to achieve the automatic position-restoring effect for the operation of the slide.

Although the aforementioned prior art can achieve the automatic position-restoring effect of the drawer, the extended length of the inner rail 92 is restricted by the position of the positioning hole 921 due to the position of the positioning hole 921 fixed by the link element 96 or even a distance remained at the rear end of the inner rail 92. As a result, the length of a section of the inner rail 92 behind the positioning hole 921 no longer can be used, and the effect of extending the length cannot be maximized. The complicated assembly among the swaying element 95, the slide cover 94 and the link element 96 may cause a wrong or unsmooth movement that requires further improvements. Therefore, it is an important subject for related manufacturers to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional automatic position-restoring slide.

In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally developed an automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus with better extendibility, smoothness and durability in accordance with the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional automatic position-restoring slide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the invention to provide an automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus having the effect of extending the length of the slide and a simple and refined structure with a smooth movement and a good operability and the advantages of a good operability, an automatic position-restoring operation with an excellent overall smooth movement, an easy installation and a low failure rate to improve the practicability and product competitiveness of the slide apparatus.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention adopts the following technical measure and provides an automatic position-restoring apparatus comprising: a bottom rail having a bottom rail space; a middle rail slidably installed in the bottom rail space and having a middle rail space; an inner rail slidably installed in the middle rail space and having a positioning hole formed at a position proximate to an end of the inner rail; a control seat mounted onto a rear end of the bottom rail and having a slide slot, a slot abutting end and a slant slot formed at a front end of the slide slot; a slide cover slidably covered onto the control seat and having at least one spring coupled between the slide cover and the control seat, and an elliptical through hole formed at a rear end of the slide cover; a swaying element installed between the control seat and the slide cover and having a protruding pillar extended out from the elliptical through hole and a guide rib installed at the bottom surface of the swaying element and slidably installed in the slide slot; and a link element fixed to the positioning hole of the inner rail and having a link slot formed at the bottom of the link element, and the link slot includes a connecting slot at the rear and a slant pressing slot at the front, and the link slot is provided for inserting, transmitting and connecting the protruding pillar, such that the slide apparatus can achieve the effect of extending and increasing the length of the slide and provide the advantages of a good operability, an automatic position-restoring operation with an excellent overall smooth movement, an easy installation and a low failure rate to improve the practicability and product competitiveness of the slide apparatus.

The technical characteristics and effects of the present invention will be apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiment together with the illustration of related drawings as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional automatic position-restoring structure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a first partial exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a second partial exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective top view of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a first schematic view of a pull-out operation of the present invention;

FIG. 8A is a second schematic view of a pull-out operation of the present invention;

FIG. 8B is a third schematic view of a pull-out operation of the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a first schematic view a push-in operation of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is a second schematic view a push-in operation of the present invention;

FIG. 9C is a third schematic view a push-in operation of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a shock-absorbing abutting device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and for an automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus in accordance with the present invention, the automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus comprises a bottom rail 10, a middle rail 20, and an inner rail 30.

The bottom rail 10 is mounted onto a cabinet (not shown in the figure), and the bottom rail 10 has a bottom rail space 11, and a fixing hole 12 formed at a rear end of the bottom rail 10.

The middle rail 20 is slidably installed in the bottom rail space 11 of the bottom rail 10, and the middle rail 20 has a middle rail space 21.

The inner rail 30 is mounted onto a drawer or a cabinet (not shown in the figure), and slidably installed in the middle rail space 21 of the middle rail 20, and the inner rail 30 includes a positioning hole 32 formed at a position proximate to a rear end 31 of the inner rail 30, and the positioning hole 32 is a square hole.

In addition, the automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of the invention further comprises the following elements:

A control seat 40 includes two spring slot 42 formed on both internal sides of a shock absorbing device 41 respectively and the shock absorbing device 41 is fixed to a distal seat portion 45 at a rear end of the control seat 40, and the spring slot 42 contains a spring 44, and an end of the spring 44 a is fixed to a clamp portion 421 disposed at a distal seat portion 45 at the rear, and a fixing hole 46 is formed at a position of the distal seat portion 45 for fixing (by screwing) into the fixing hole 46 with the fixing hole 12 at the rear end of the bottom rail 10, and the control seat 40 is positioned in the bottom rail space 11, and a slide slot 43 is formed substantially at the middle position of the control seat 40, and a slant slot 431 and slot abutting end 432 are formed at the front end of the slide slot 43.

A slide cover 50 is slidably covered onto the control seat 40, and the slide cover 50 includes a shock absorbing slot 51 and a spring slot 52 disposed on both sides of the slide cover 50 and corresponding to each other for covering and protecting the shock absorbing device 41 and the spring 44, wherein the front end of the shock absorbing device 41 is fixed to a clamp opening 510 formed at the front end of the shock absorbing slot 51, and the front end of the spring 44 is fixed to a snatch portion 521 at a front end of the spring slot 52, and a slanting elliptical through hole 53 is formed substantially at the middle position of the rear end of the slide cover 50, and a concave containing portion 54 is disposed substantially at the middle position of the top of the slide cover 50 and passed through the elliptical through hole 53.

A swaying element 60 is installed between the control seat 40 and the slide cover 50, and the swaying element 60 is substantially a triangular slanting component having a protruding pillar 61 at the top and a guide rib 62 at the bottom, and the protruding pillar 61 is protruded out from the elliptical through hole 53 of the slide cover 50, and the guide rib 62 is installed with a slightly aslant angle and slidably in the slide slot 43 of the control seat 40.

A link element 70 is substantially a square block installed at the concave containing portion 54 of the slide cover 50 and includes a fixing portion 71 disposed at the top of the link element 70 and fixed to the positioning hole 32 (of the inner rail 30 as shown in FIG. 2) for linking the inner rail 30 and a link slot 72 formed at the bottom of the link element 70. The link slot 72 further includes a straight connecting slot 720, a side adjusting slot 721 and a slant pressing slot 722, such that the protruding pillar 61 of the swaying element 60 protruded out from the elliptical through hole 53 of the slide cover 50 can be inserted into the link slot 72 (as shown in FIG. 6), such that the link element 70 links with the swaying element 60, and the swaying element 60 slides in the slide slot 43 of the control seat 40 through the guide rib 62.

With reference to FIG. 7 for the operation of a position-restoring extended slide apparatus in accordance with the present invention automatic, when a drawer (or cabinet) is pulled, the inner rail 30 is slid forward to drive and displace the link element 70, and the link element 70 further pulls the protruding pillar 61 of the swaying element 60 to drive and slide the swaying element 60 passed through the guide rib 62 forward in the slide slot 43 of the control seat 40. In the meantime, the slide cover 50 is moved forward with respect to the control seat 40. Now, the shock absorbing device 41 and the spring 44 are pulled with tension.

With reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the link element 70 continues to move forward to drive the guide rib 62 of the swaying element 60 to abut against the slot abutting end 432 of the slide slot 43, the swaying element 60 (or guide rib 62) is pulled to move in a deviated direction towards the slant slot 431, and the protruding pillar 61 produces a deviation with respect to the elliptical through hole 53 and drives the protruding pillar 61 to move from the slant pressing slot 722 in a direction corresponding to the connecting slot 720, and the protruding pillar 61 is separated from the connecting slot 720 and the link slot 72 by the pulling force. In other words, the swaying element 60 is detached from the link of the link element 70. Now, the link element 70 is separated from the swaying element 60 and the slide cover 50, so that the inner rail 30 and the link element 70 can move forward continuously during the pulling operation of the drawer or cabinet so as to complete the operation of opening the drawer or cabinet. Due to the pulling force of the spring 44 exerted onto the slide cover 50, the guide rib 62 of the swaying element 60 abuts in a backward direction to fix into the slant slot 431 to set the slide cover 50 at a temporary positioning condition as shown in FIG. 8B, and the spring 44 is situated at a final tensed status.

In the aforementioned operation of pulling the drawer or cabinet, the inner rail 30 is extended and slid on the middle rail 20, such that when the slide cover 50 is actuated, the middle rail 20 is pushed by the slide cover 50 and driven to slide and extend its length to the final opened status of the drawer or cabinet.

With reference to FIG. 9A for the operation of closing the drawer or cabinet, the inner rail 30 and the middle rail 20 are pushed backward to contract and engage with each other, and the link element 70 is also moved backward accordingly. When the connecting slot 720 of the link element 70 is in contact with the protruding pillar 61 of the swaying element 60, the protruding pillar 61 is driven by the link element 70 to enter into the link slot 72. In FIG. 9B, the link element 70 continuously pushes to produce a deviation to enter into the slant pressing slot 722. Since the link element 70 is deviated, the guide rib 62 is released from its abutting at the slot abutting end 432 to align at the slide slot 43. The pulling force of the spring 44 drives the slide cover 50 to move backward (as shown in FIG. 9C). Now, the inner rail 30 and the drawer (or cabinet) produces an automatic position-restoring effect. With the shock absorption of the shock absorbing device 41, a gentle closing operation effect can be achieved. When the slide cover 50 slides to its original position at the distal seat portion 45 of the control seat 40, a positioning equilibrium is obtained to achieve the automatic position-restoring function of the drawer or cabinet.

In FIG. 10, the automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of the present invention further comprises a latch hole 22, 23 formed separately on both sides of the front end of the middle rail 20, a fixing hole 24 formed at the middle position, and a shock-absorbing abutting device 80 having a latch portion 81, 82 disposed separately on both sides of the top of the shock-absorbing abutting device 80 and a fixing hole 83 at the middle position, such that the latch portions 81, 82 can be latched into the latch holes 22, 23 respectively. With the fixation (by screwing) into the fixing hole 24, 83, the shock-absorbing abutting device 80 can be fixed at the front end of the middle rail 20, and a lateral protection portion 84 is disposed separately on both sides of the shock-absorbing abutting device 80, and a pair of elastic bent arms 85 formed at the front end of the shock-absorbing abutting device 80 and a pressing pillar 86 is disposed between the pair of elastic bent arms 85, such that when the inner rail 30 is engaged with the middle rail 20, an end plate 33 at the front end of the inner rail 30 is passed through the elastic bent arm 85, and abutted by the pressing pillar 86 to achieve the shock absorbing and silencing effects to avoid the metal collision sounds. In addition, the lateral protection portion 84 also provides an effect to facilitate the middle rail 20 to be engaged with the bottom rail 10.

Since the present invention adopts the simple assembly and the interactive installation of the swaying element and the link element, the present invention provides the advantages of a good operability, an automatic position-restoring operation with an excellent overall smooth movement, an easy installation and a low failure rate to improve the practicability and product competitiveness of the slide apparatus. More importantly, the present invention includes the link element installed at a position proximate to the rear end of the inner rail for achieving the effect of extending the length of the inner rail to provide a better operation, so as to enhance the practicality and product competitiveness of the slide apparatus.

While the invention has been described by device of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those generally skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. 

1. An automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus, comprising: a bottom rail, having a bottom rail space; a middle rail, slidably installed in the bottom rail space, and having a middle rail space; an inner rail, slidably installed in the middle rail space, and having a positioning hole formed at a position proximate to a rear end of the middle rail space; a control seat, mounted onto a rear end of the bottom rail, and having a slide slot, and a slot abutting end and a slant slot formed at a front end of the slide slot; a slide cover, slidably covered onto the control seat, and having at least one spring coupled between the slide cover and the control seat, and an elliptical through hole formed at a rear end of the slide cover; a swaying element, installed between the control seat and the slide cover, and having a protruding pillar formed at the top of the swaying element and protruded out from the elliptical through hole and a guide rib formed at the bottom of the swaying element and slidably installed into the slide slot; and a link element, fixed to the positioning hole of the inner rail, and having a link slot formed at the bottom of the link element, and the link slot including a connecting slot formed at a rear end of the link slot and a slant pressing slot formed at a front end of the link slot, and the link slot being provided for inserting, transmitting and coupling the protruding pillar.
 2. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one shock absorbing device, wherein both ends of the shock absorbing device are fixed to the rear end of the control seat and the front end of the slide cover respectively.
 3. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the slide cover includes a shock absorbing slot for covering and protecting the shock absorbing device.
 4. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elliptical through hole is aslant.
 5. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the slide cover includes a concave containing portion disposed at the top of the slide cover for containing the link element, and passed through the elliptical through hole.
 6. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the swaying element is a biased triangular component and the guide rib is installed biasedly.
 7. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the link element is substantially a square block, and the link element includes a fixing portion disposed at the top of the link element for fixing into the positioning hole.
 8. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lateral adjusting slot formed between the connecting slot and the slant pressing slot.
 9. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 1, wherein the middle rail includes a shock-absorbing abutting device fixed at a front end of the middle rail.
 10. The automatic position-restoring extended slide apparatus of claim 9, wherein the shock-absorbing abutting device includes a lateral protection portion disposed separately on both sides of the shock-absorbing abutting device, and at least one elastic bent arm and a pressing pillar disposed at the front end of the shock-absorbing abutting device, and the inner rail includes an end plate installed at a front end of the inner rail for abutting the elastic bent arm. 